Are our ‘second homes’ safe enough?

From our early days, we are being taught that the schools are our ‘second home’ and the people inside the school premises are our family.

Sadly, the two inhumane incidents that took place within a span of 3 days have once again raised doubts over the safety guidelines in the school premises.

The first shameful incident took place in Gurgaon, where a seven-year-old boy found with his throat slit in the toilet of the Ryan International School in Gurgaon was murdered by a school bus conductor.

“Bus conductor Ashok attempted to sexually assault the boy when he raised an alarm the conductor killed him. Accused had been working here for the past six to eight months. He had gone to use the toilet where he saw the boy. He was not targeting that particular child, only when he saw the boy he thought of assaulting him. He had the knife with him in his pocket,” said the Deputy Commissioner of Police Simardeep Singh.

Many people were seen carrying out protests outside the school and the local police station demanding justice for the 7-year-old and a strict action against the school authority.

When the entire country was still in shock and trying to get over this heinous incident, another shocking incident took place in Tagore Public School in Delhi.

A five-year-old girl was raped in the classroom of Tagore Public School allegedly by the school peon, once again highlighting the sorry state of child safety conditions in educational institutions.

Police said the accused, who has been working in the school for three years, took the girl inside an empty classroom around 11.45 am when he was roaming the corridors after handing over lunchboxes to the teachers. He also allegedly threatened the girl of dire consequences.

While an exemplary punishment should be carried out against the convict, but will this solve the problem alone?

The alumni of the Ryan International reveal that there have been security lapses in the school. The bigger question remains – “Have the school’s authority forgot to look into safety in the pursuit to impart education?”

Sadly, the two incidents have left many wondering ‘”Are the walls and the corridors of our second homes safe enough?”